Category Archives: Work

When you wake up in the morning, are you filled with excitement about the prospect of a new day at work, or do you dread the thought of having to make it through yet another day of drudgery? A great question which we will often answer in the negative! But what would it be like in the positive? Asked and answered by one of Inc’s finest, author and futurist Jacob Morgan @JacobM.

If you’re like much of the population, you fall into the latter category and disdain going to work. Surveys have found that only 13% of people around the world actually like going to work–an astoundingly low number.

Low employee engagement can lead to a number of problems, including low office morale, physical ailments, and emotional disorders. Employees who don’t like their jobs, especially when they work together, tend to feed off each other, which can cause distress in many other areas of an employee’s life and lead to more sickness and familial problems.

What would the world be like if we all loved our jobs? Think of the power of that question. To start, the emotional and physical problems from having to spend hours a day in an unsupportive environment would go away or be mitigated. People would likely be much happier and spread that happiness to their personal lives. Think of the potential of what problems society could work together to overcome. With a world of engaged employees who are excited about what they are doing, we could solve some of the world’s biggest problems and bring people together in new ways.

There are a number of reasons people dread going to work: it could be that the work itself isn’t challenging or engaging, the management is difficult to work with, the pay and benefits are lower than the employee would want, co-workers are difficult, the culture isn’t a good match, and many other reasons. And while we may not be able to create a world where every single person loves his or her job, each company can work towards creating that environment in their own office. Imagine what could happen with a full team of engaged and passionate employees–goals and success would likely be higher than ever. Every person deserves to work for an organization that they feel deserves their time and attention to be there.

In order to create this ideal environment, management needs to be on the same page with employees. The right to love your job doesn’t arrive once you hit a certain level or get a promotion–employees at all levels should be excited to come to work. Start a dialogue with honest conversations about what employees like and dislike about their work environment. For some organizations, this happens through town hall meetings or performance reviews, while others use anonymous surveys. Those results can point leadership in the starting direction. If a majority of employees feel unengaged because of the physical office space, management knows that one of its first steps should be reevaluating the office and perhaps creating something that better meets the needs of employees.

Creating an engaged environment isn’t a one-time thing, however. The best companies keep the conversation going and involve employees in the entire process. Constantly asking employees about their ideas for the future and their thoughts on the progress of the company gives leaders at all levels a metric of how their efforts are playing out. Being flexible and listening to employee feedback creates a cohesive environment where people are happy, engaged, and productive.

Everyone around the world deserves to wake up excited to go to work, but unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. While we can’t control what is happening other places, we can focus on what we can control: our own attitudes and the environment in our organization. By putting a bigger emphasis on employee happiness and engagement, organisations can reach new levels of productivity and success.

“Where is the spiritual value in rowing? It is in losing of self entirely to the cooperative effort of the crew.” — George Yeoman Pocock, boat builder, 1936 Olympic gold medal winner

Stepping into a Zappos Call Center is like walking into a circus. Phones ring, voices rise, and laughter bounces around the room. If you closed your eyes, you’d think you’d entered a loud family reunion, not a billion dollar company.

Zappos employees work in a fiercely proud culture. Only 16 years after founding Zappos, CEO Tony Hsieh has made the online shoe-retailer into one of best places to work in the world. Zappos employees not only love their work, they care deeply about others in the community.

How did Hsieh do it? He did it by empowering his employees to lead. In Eyewitness to Power, David Gergen writes, “At the heart of leadership is the leader’s relationship with followers. People will entrust their hopes and dreams to another person only if they think the other is a reliable vessel.”

There was a time when leaders thought their role was to exert power over others. No longer, today’s best leaders — people like Ford’s Alan Mulally, General Motors’ Mary Barra, and Google’s Larry Page — recognize their leadership is most effective when they empower others to step up and lead. That’s exactly what the new generation of Gen X and Millennials expect from their leaders, and they respond with great performance.

Tony Hsieh focuses on relationships first and business second. In good times and bad, Hsieh’s communications are authentic, funny, and informal. He speaks directly and personally to his colleagues. As Hsieh says, “if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff…will just happen naturally.”

Hsieh reflects traits of an “empowering leader.” These leaders have discovered that helping people find purpose delivers superior results than forcing subordinates to be loyal followers. By giving others the latitude to lead, they expand their own potential impact.

So, how can you empower others? In Discover Your True North, I profile five things great leaders do.

Treat Others as Equals: We respect people who treat us as equals. Warren Buffett, for example, gives equal attention to every person he meets. He has the same sandwich and Cherry Coke combination with a group of wide-eyed students as he does with his close friend Bill Gates. Buffett does not rely upon his image to make people feel he is important or powerful. He genuinely respects others, and they respect him as much for those qualities as for his investment prowess. By being authentic in his interactions, Buffett empowers people to lead in their own authentic way.

Listen Actively: We are grateful when people genuinely listen to us. Active listening is one of the most important abilities of empowering leaders, because people sense such individuals are genuinely interested in them and not just trying to get something. The leadership scholar Warren Bennis was an example of a world-class listener. He patiently listened as you explained your ideas and then thoughtfully contributed astute observations that came from a deep well of wisdom and experience.

Learn from People: We feel respected when others believe they can learn from us or ask for our advice. The best advice I ever got about teaching came from my Harvard Business School (HBS) colleague Paul Marshall, who was one of HBS’s greatest teachers. He told me, “Bill, don’t ever set foot in an HBS classroom unless you genuinely want to learn from the students.” I have taken his advice into every class I have taught for the past 12 years, telling MBA students and executives, “I feel certain I will learn a lot more from you than you do from me.” The students find that hard to believe at first, but they soon see how their feedback helps me understand how today’s leaders and MBA students think.

Share Life Stories: When leaders are willing to be open and share their personal stories and vulnerabilities, people feel empowered to share their own stories and uncertainties in return. On Thanksgiving eve in 1996, I sent an e-mail to all Medtronic employees, expressing my gratitude for the support Penny and I received following her ordeal with breast cancer and chemotherapy. We were overwhelmed by the number of people who spontaneously shared their stories with us.

Align around the Mission: The most empowering condition of all is when the entire organization aligns with its mission, and people’s passions and purpose synchronize with each other. It is not easy to get to this position, especially if the organization has a significant number of cynics or disgruntled people. Nonetheless, it is worth whatever effort it takes to create an aligned environment, including removal of those who don’t support the mission.

Leaders of every organization have an important responsibility to articulate how their company contributes to humankind. At Medtronic, our mission was to restore people to full health and wellness. At Disney, it’s to make people happy. Even at the most “boring” business-to-business company, the business can play a powerful role in improving the lives of its stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, and community.

With leadership comes responsibility. As Clayton Christensen wrote, “No other occupation offers as many ways to help others learn and grow, take responsibility and be recognized for achievement.”

It’s time to lead authentically. You can do so by focusing on empowering others.

One of the organisations I wholeheartedly endorse is Business Greenhouse. This is the fourth video in the series by Wez Hone: it is on building systems in your business and getting out of debt . You need to watch all four. Be blessed.

Wez Hone has a gift and calling from God to help business people grow successful Kingdom businesses. What do I mean by a Kingdom business. It is one where the owner knows God, and whose business and working life is increasingly an outward manifestation of an inward walk of faith, motivated by God’s love. They are people who have been released from striving for success through their own strength. They are building their working life and business on the rock – Psalm 127:1 & Matthew 7:24-27.

Are you are longing to serve God in your professional life and see His Kingdom manifest through you?

Are you yearning to understand more of how to apply God’s word, His Yes and His ways and be led by the Holy Spirit?

Looking to gain a clearer prophetic understanding of our times, its agenda and God’s purposes?

If you are then you need to contact me and let me connect you with the people and organisations which can help you. May I also suggest you buy a copy of my book Build a Kingdom Business – Empoweredby the Holy Spirit. It is available as an eBook on Amazon or trade paper back by sending me an email on ron@bakb.com.au – cost AUS$10.00 incl postage in Australia.

Many believers are getting ready for the Rapture and many see increased persecution of Christians imminent. Whilst both may be right, God is still in control and He is working out His plans and purposes. With increased shaking and persecution come opportunities for us to be the salt and light in the marketplace. For those “in step with the Holy Spirit, they will be like the men of Issachar able to discern the times and know what to do.

Governments have reached beyond God’s appointed boundaries. They have displaced the roles of families, free enterprise, church, non profits and volunteerism. Governments have tried to play God and are not up to the task.

Most nations are in so much debt there is no way out. They are struggling to pay the interest at near zero interest rates. Stock Market collapses are imminent

With near zero interest rates retirees are struggling to survive as they spend their savings. Housing prices are inflated as people buy investment homes for future retirement income. Share prices are similarly inflated as people chase dividends.

The big banks exposure to derivative contracts is horrendous. Goldman Sachs total assets in 2014 was a shade over 105 billion dollars but their total exposure to Derivatives is more than 48 trillion dollars, i.e. 460 times greater than their total assets. The Derivatives bubble is like the “sword of Damocles” hanging over the global economy by a thread day after day, month after month. At some point the thread is going to break and all hell will break loose. A financial crisis far greater than what was experienced in 2008 is coming and can’t be too far off – sometime in 2016/2017.

Isaiah said: ” …unto us a Son is given (Jesus): and the government shall be upon His shoulders and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, mighty God …

Jesus has a body on the earth and His body has to see itself as the administrator of heaven on earth. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit through whom Jesus can implement His plans and purposes on this earth.

The Hebrew word for worship is also the word for work, our work should be our worship, if it is done excellently, as unto the Lord.

God wants to build businesses that will effect change… for profit, for purpose, forever – even in the midst of shaking.

Consider joining the International Christian Chamber of Commerce and/or Kingdom Business Network if you sense you are one of these change agents. . Check out both websites to see what is right for you. I am on the Board of ICCC Australia and look after business development in NSW for KBN so if you want to discuss either contact me – ron@bakb.com.au